It’s just the only defensive item in the game that actually works anymore. That’s why it seems like its broken. When every other defensive option, bar steraks, sucks as bad as they do, anything that just does acceptably well is going to see leagues better.
Long story short. Zhonya isn’t broken, defense items just suck.
Vonyalo37 votesZhonya isn't broken... the game is
BossCoolDude3 voteslol
God is a Poro26 votesI don't think ZH is the problem. Stopwatch is the problem........................
Useless Kha2 votes[{quoted}](name=God is a Poro,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2019-10-04T23:53:28.870+0000)
I don't think ZH is the problem. Stopwatch is the problem........................
depsite stopwatch being out for awhile now i really never expect it its really annoying cause u never expect it and ik u can look at peoples inventory but even then your not going to be expecting a item like that early in the game
The thigh guy7 votes[{quoted}](name=God is a Poro,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2019-10-04T23:53:28.870+0000)
I don't think ZH is the problem. Stopwatch is the problem........................
I don’t even think stopwatch is a problem. Considering the number of champions that just all in at level 2 with ignite and 100-0 you.
LightswornLance2 votesOne? Talon? Mages are pretty bad at all ining and bruisers / assassins dont get all the tools needed till level 3.
Ifneth2 votesAFAIK... Talon and Darius?
Mighty Mortein4 votes[{quoted}](name=God is a Poro,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2019-10-04T23:53:28.870+0000)
I don't think ZH is the problem. Stopwatch is the problem........................
Stopwatch shouldn't have been added at all. Zhonya's should be the only item that grants stasis. A 600 gold stasis is dumb.
VelvetCrotch5 votesi disagree. its totally unfair and rude, only mages had the option of "the best defesive item in the game". AD champs doesnt really have this VERY strong option. and Zhonyas will always be better than GA if they don't change one or the other
Theorex4 votesEveryone says that Zhonya's is the best item in the game, but as a battle mage player. I would much rather prefer a AP QSS.
Run Cleanse + QSS = Never going to fucking die. I'll trade Zhonyas for a QSS anyday.
Because at least with Zhonyas going to AD, it means it gets gutted because champions like Riven, Irelia, Darius, could all use it. Making it too accessible to too many champions. Meanwhile mages are looking to fit different items into their builds. Majority of the time I don't even get a Zhonya's because it doesn't fit into my build well unless they are all AD or all burst.
But you know what can always fit into my build? QSS, because everyone has CC.
Give me QSS on Zhonya's stats, and you can have Zhonyas on Maw's Stats.
It would take care of aids champions with 50 dashes in the mid lane getting a zhonyas.
Fizz, Kass, Kata, Akali, Ekko. They also lose a bunch of power because they can't just R Q W E Zhonya Blink/Dash away.
Now top laners and adc's get to deal with a Riven with shielding, dashes, CC, and Zhonyas. :)
I don't even care about ADC's having access to Zhonyas. Fuck it give it to them, because if AD champions get a Zhonyas. Its getting gutted. its going to have a 120 second CD.
Theorex4 votesAD's don't get a very strong OPTION???????
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?
Steraks, Maw, Adaptive Helm, Mercs/Ninja Tabi.
ADC's don't get a very big option. AD's do. AD casters and brusier get a massive option, because they are also able to tap into tank items.
Mihalikb3 votesMaw is complete garbage as a defensive item, Mercurial Blade is better in most situations, Adaptive Helm is a niche defensive item against certain damage sources, never really built by most Bruisers, Assassins or ADCs.
Mercs and Tabis can in fact be built by everyone. There are better damage or utility oriented options for AD Champs too, they just happen to build it because they have to. Nothing stops AP Champs or mages from building them.
So we are back to Steraks, the one decent melee defense item that can't actually be built by most ranged Champs.
So... Try again.
Sinister Anubis1 votes[{quoted}](name=God is a Poro,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2019-10-04T23:53:28.870+0000)
I don't think ZH is the problem. Stopwatch is the problem........................
I agree. No reason we should get a free 600g item simply putting it in runes.
Hayaishi226 votesPeople are just too used to rolling their keyboards are killing everything now, that is why Zhonya seems broken.
God is a Poro7 votesPeople are just too used to rolling their keyboards are killing everything now, that is why Zhonya seems broken.
I think the zeds/fioras rather ppl qssing their ults like in the old days :)
Crescent Dusk6 votes[{quoted}](name=The thigh guy,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=,timestamp=2019-10-04T23:31:44.819+0000)
It’s just the only defensive item in the game that actually works anymore. That’s why it seems like its broken. When every other defensive option, bar steraks, sucks as bad as they do, anything that just does acceptably well is going to see leagues better.
Long story short. Zhonya isn’t broken, defense items just suck.
Zhonyas is a worse version of GA, straight up.
AP champs get awful defensive items, that's why AP bruisers can't exist.
Sillae5 votes[{quoted}](name=Crescent Dusk,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2019-10-05T02:21:13.863+0000)
Zhonyas is a worse version of GA, straight up.
AP champs get awful defensive items, that's why AP bruisers can't exist.
You can't keep using abilities like Morg R, Fiddle R, and most egregiously Rumble flames with GA. Also GA only bring you back to half health while with zhonyas you can keep yourself full while dodging all the damage, assuming they used everything to try to oneshot you.
3TWarrior1 votesso, an absolutely perfect situation? in the same situation, GA can revive you after they burned everything whereas with zhonyas, you likely already took damage and were forced to use it just to survive, only now they're even closer to you and you have no ways out
GA can protect you the same way and there are very few champs that can achieve what you described for zhonyas. It is due to the ability being a persistent effect
here are some other examples: 
her W , 
ult , 
Q , 
W , 
(I think it still applies to her R ? )
LightswornLance2 votesXDDDDDD ? [zombie-brand-mindblown] Unless your a bronzie with 1 second reaction times and the inability to press buttons, zhonyas is better, stat wise, build component wise, cost efficiency wise, and active wise.
Crescent Dusk2 votesXDDDDDD ? [zombie-brand-mindblown] Unless your a bronzie with 1 second reaction times and the inability to press buttons, zhonyas is better, stat wise, build component wise, cost efficiency wise, and active wise.
Yeah, Zhonyas is so useful against Jinx or Kaisa or Vayne autos which don't rely on cd's to sustain damage.
Dumbass. Making yourself stationary for 1 second for the enemy team to perfectly align their incoming CC and skill shots is so good compared to what is basically a free aatrox ult with armor and damage built on top.
Zed's Q cd is back up by the time you come off Zhonya's stasis ready to eat a triple Q shuriken burst or a Khazix Q.
LightswornLance3 votesAnd why is guardian angel any different in that situation? You are still perfectly aligned for your enemies incoming CC... Zhonyas is basically an instant bard ult with armor, cdr, ability power built into it and has an infinitely better build path. Anywany, Why would I want to have guardian angel when I jarvan ult and engage instead of stop watch, or gragas flash body slam engage, or malphite ult in? It literally doesnt matter if your entire team dies and your still in stopwatch or guardian angel, the outcome is the same, you die anyways. The difference is in engages, if I engage and I have stopwatch my chances of living and providing more to the fight are much higher than if I have guardian angel.
3TWarrior1 votesthey do exist...they just function better with assassins playstyles or are made AS assassins or get nerfed like crazy due to pro play
etc
(jax can go ap but it's not the most effective build for the lane phase ) 
(he's a weird one, I do not think he has EVER reached assassin levels of power but he's everywhere with his ult)
several of those get nerfed if they are so much as touched in pro-play
Crescent Dusk1 votesthey do exist...they just function better with assassins playstyles or are made AS assassins or get nerfed like crazy due to pro play
several of those get nerfed if they are so much as touched in pro-play
Oh, please. None of those are remotely bruisers. Diana doesn't hold a candle to Garen, Renekton, or Kled in survivability, ever, as do neither of the other ones you listed besides singed, who builds pure tank items and isn't even a bruiser.
Akali dies in 2 seconds the moment she's caught out of shroud.
3TWarrior1 votesDiana is a bruiser but her playstyle had to change to keep up. Right now she just goes full-AP assassin and dives in, but that's all she's got
in previous seasons, she would have 4000 hp, nuke any single target she could get to and still be able to deal a potent amount of DPS
the bruiser playstyles are just less efficient now so champions go for full-nuke. Singed is a specialist and plays like no-one else in the game, but he is an AP bruiser if you get into a fight with him. If you're not a duelist, you do not want to fight him
Kassadin is lucky to EXIST at this point, having been nerfed probably THE MOST IN THE ENTIRE GAME
Gragas WAS a bruiser but suddenly Riot decided they wanted him to be full tank because that's how the pro's used him: an ult-bot
If you think that Rumble isn't a bruiser, then there is something really wrong here...
the playstyle is just WAY less efficient now. Garen, Renekton and Kled have LARGE buffs in their kit alone that make them tougher than most bruisers
DoranShieldOp4 votesI have a question for you that I hope you don't find offensive or toxic
you post a lot on gameplay and give different opinion on stuff but where do you get your ideas or game knowledge from? do you have higher elo friends? cause your elo is not too good no offense ofc
The thigh guy5 votesI have a question for you that I hope you don't find offensive or toxic
you post a lot on gameplay and give different opinion on stuff but where do you get your ideas or game knowledge from? do you have higher elo friends? cause your elo is not too good no offense ofc
I don’t play ranked anymore. I don’t find it fun, I don’t find it entertaining. I play more with friends than anything.
Most of my ideas are just things that pop up as solutions to a lot of the games issues at the time.
As for why you should listen to me. Eh. Probably shouldn’t. Only been playing since season 4ish?
ModCaptainMårvelous4 votesMmmm, no, Zhonyas is broken. Just not in the sense of stats or ability.
The thing about Zhonyas is that it has established a "renekton bar" of AP/Armor items. Ever notice how we don't have other AP/Armor items for non-supports? That's because Zhonyas has set the bar so absurdly high, regardless of meta. Even in the lowest of low damage metas, Zhonyas is the go-to because of just how versatile the item is. It's a life saver. It's a delayer. It lets you do dives. It lets you get out of dives. It's both a shield and a sword making certain plays possible.
ANY AP/Armor item Riot would make would have to compete with Zhonyas regardless if the item does something completely different. If it didn't have such strict AP/Armor requirements, EVERYONE would build this item just like everyone built old GA. Zhonyas needs changes to make the item either more offensive or defensive. It needs another break-apart like it did back in the early days. Until that happens, we can't get more meaningful AP/armor itemization.
TL;DR Zhonyas has been the gold standard for AP/Armor itemization so much so that it makes any other item in this category either strictly for a different class or so powerful it can compete with Zhonyas.
The thigh guy2 votesMmmm, no, Zhonyas is broken. Just not in the sense of stats or ability.
The thing about Zhonyas is that it has established a "renekton bar" of AP/Armor items. Ever notice how we don't have other AP/Armor items for non-supports? That's because Zhonyas has set the bar so absurdly high, regardless of meta. Even in the lowest of low damage metas, Zhonyas is the go-to because of just how versatile the item is. It's a life saver. It's a delayer. It lets you do dives. It lets you get out of dives. It's both a shield and a sword making certain plays possible.
ANY AP/Armor item Riot would make would have to compete with Zhonyas regardless if the item does something completely different. If it didn't have such strict AP/Armor requirements, EVERYONE would build this item just like everyone built old GA. Zhonyas needs changes to make the item either more offensive or defensive. It needs another break-apart like it did back in the early days. Until that happens, we can't get more meaningful AP/armor itemization.
TL;DR Zhonyas has been the gold standard for AP/Armor itemization so much so that it makes any other item in this category either strictly for a different class or so powerful it can compete with Zhonyas.
It’s not even close to broken.
Like I said. It seems broken because it’s the only defensive item left that actually works.
ModCaptainMårvelous4 votes[{quoted}](name=The thigh guy,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=00070000,timestamp=2019-10-05T09:30:54.111+0000)
It’s not even close to broken.
Like I said. It seems broken because it’s the only defensive item left that actually works.
....No, you didn't even read what I said.
Zhonya's is broken because its existence has completely warped AP/Armor itemization as well as being one of the strongest defensive items in the entire game, regardless of meta or champion. It's also one of the strongest offensive items as well as it allows you to "Pause" a fight to get cooldowns back.
The item is absolutely broken in the sense that it being a thing greatly hinders any other AP/Armor item because they will always be compared to it. Any item has to either be as good as or better than Zhonyas, which makes it even more problematic.
3TWarrior2 votesit doesn't allow you to pause a fight though? it just puts you 2 seconds later in the fight, which typically is the only thing necessary for the assassin or other damage dealer to close the gap and kill the user
AP champs have always used it to pull off plays under towers(and even then, it was not likely to be an early item except in specific cases), yet only after the damage meta did champions that COULD use it start using it in any situation possible
for example will pick a target, dive them, likely kill them, pop zhonyas or her own ability or both, then just wait on her team to mop up whereas previously, this would have just been a waste of the item because it would be unlikely to be followed up on and even less likely that elise would have gotten the kill
Thilmer4 votesI rather see Zhonya disapearing if in exchange we get two or three viable defensive ítems for mages.
Zhonya has been shit for years anyway, but mages can't get defensive ítems because "Zhonya's active is too Good and we should compensate that by not giving you any other defensive ítem".
iDarkWind3 votesThat is not true at all lol.
Zhonya's is just so strong that overwhelms any other defensive option. Literally every mage builds it nowdays, and why they shouldn't?
It's one of the best items to deal with assassins and divers - wich are the only champions in the game who can oppose a treat to long range mages / overall mages. Also taking in consideration its stats, the armor is provides denys a ton of lethality from the assassins. If the assassins only builds Ghostblade and Duskblade it totally nullifies the lethality provided by both items until the assassin reachs lv16 or something around that.
On top of that, the build path is amazing and has one of the best items against AD assassins as a component: 
.
If this isn't enough, just think that people literally waste 600G for 
wich is a single use. That's how valuable the active is.
3TWarrior2 votesyou think every mage builds it might HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT THERE ARE NO OTHER AP ARMOR ITEMS?
and add on to that that AD champions and Attack Speed champions are currently the strongest in the game? Add onto that that Assassins have a huge percentage of the pick rate...
if they don't build zhonya's, they will be a walking balloon by mid-game when any of the three AD champs on the opposing team decide to attack them
LightswornLance2 votesAD champs and AS champs ( I assume you mean on hit ) are the best?? No, mages are. When was the last time you saw an AD assassin in a pro game? Mages dominate every lane from top to mid to bot. The only reason AD champs have higher pick rates is because AD champs are simply more fun to play. Mages are basically just oneshot checking everything. Can I oneshot you, can you oneshot me? Thats all that goes into mage gameplay.
Thilmer1 votesAD champs and AS champs ( I assume you mean on hit ) are the best?? No, mages are. When was the last time you saw an AD assassin in a pro game? Mages dominate every lane from top to mid to bot.
What game are you playing exactly? Because I don't see that in my games at all, mind you.
iDarkWind2 votesYou can't really use your rankeds as an example, can you? Probably Teemo mid is the pick meta there.
3TWarrior2 votesbesides somewhat agreeing with the other post by Thilmer, have you ever even stopped to consider that the reason there are no AD assassins (which I do not even know if it is true or not given the large variety of them and I do not watch pro-play)
#IS BECAUSE THEIR PRIMARY STRENGTH IS GONE? ASSASSINS KILL LONE TARGETS AND ARE WEAK AGAINST COORDINATED GAMEPLAY
pros do not play the same game, having numerous advantages that even team-based league gameplay does not have
you could take the #1 player in every position in the world, put them on a team together...and they'd still get massacred by a professional team because that professional team IS NOT PLAYING BY THE SAME RULES
iDarkWind1 votesAlright. I'll try to explain it better.
Zhonya's is BROKEN. It isn't because there are not other options for AP Armor. Most of the people that pick it isn't because of it giving Armor, if it was a Magic Resist and AP item they would still pick it anyways. The item is flat out broken because of the active being extremly good against the mage counters, while on top of that most of Divers and Assassins being AD and stacking lethality. But like I said: If it was a Magic Resist + AP they would still pick it even if they needed armor. Armor on Zhonya's is just a bonus to tell to any lethality stacker to fuck off.
and add on to that that AD champions and Attack Speed champions are currently the strongest in the game? Add onto that that Assassins have a huge percentage of the pick rate...
No they're not. Saying that AD and AS champions are the strongest is just a bias opinion that probably must mages players think. Assassins have huge pick rates because they're more fun to play, not because they're stronger. Even when Zed was in his worst state ever with 46% WR during pre-season 6 he would still maintain high pick rates because the champion is simply FUN to play.
if they don't build zhonya's, they will be a walking balloon by mid-game when any of the three AD champs on the opposing team decide to attack them
There's a thing called macro and positioning that really helps to counter that. On top of that, most of the mages are already long range. Zhonya's just removes the counterplay that you have to them, because once you get on top of them they will just say "NOPE" and deny you the kill, while on top of that they can take summoners spells such as Barrier and being extremly hard to kill.
Zhonya's is broken and the people that deny it are probably the ones that know it the best. I wouldn't say that we should remove the item or anything like that - starting by removing the Stopwatch could actually play a big role in balacing the item out.
3TWarrior1 votesassassins have high pick rates for 3 reasons: high skill caps(in some cases); they counter mages; they are very mobile and powerful with the assassin fantasy of killing a target before they can react...
just look at the tier list or any data on any site. Assassins and specialists that mimic assassins are HUGELY successful. here is u.gg ; https://u.gg/lol/tier-list/?role=middle&rank=diamond_plus
click on the tier list...notice something? 5 out of the top 10 are assassins, 2 of those are specialists that MIMIC assassins or FORMERLY WERE ASSASSINS , then 2 of the others are ASSASSIN COUNTERS
9 out of 10 of the top 10 picks have to do with assassins
#btw, zhonya's without armor might still get picked, but, do you know what is more likely to happen? either an HP item or an amor item would replace it simply due to mages popping like balloons with only HEALTH in their item lists
is likely or another 
if I had to hazard a guess, would replace zhonya's unless zhonya's received a substantial increase in AP or a substantial decrease in its cool-down and then 
would be used to deal with AD threats, providing a weaker but still better than nothing defense. There's also 
just to be able to survive at all
no they're not. saying that AD and AS champions are the strongest is just a biased opinion
I'll list pick rates and win rates
22% pick rate, 51.24% win rate
(although not strictly AD, he does build primarily AD items and then defensive items) 22% pick rate, 49% win rate on a very high skill cap and supposedly high skill floor champion
15.8% pick rate, 52.18% win rate
13.6% pick rate, 50% win rate, 41% BAN RATE
on second thought, maybe ban rates are a better metric...
41%
36%
33%
28.7%
25%
24.8%
22%
20.4%
19.7%
14.8%
then if you go through most of the ban-rates, the highest have either been buffed like crazy , or, get this, COUNTER AD CHAMPIONS OR ASSASSINS OR ARE ASSASSINS THEMSELVES
there's a thing called macro and positioning that really helps to counter that
seriously, you do realize that mages are #2 on the list of priority targets, right? Marksmen/assassins, mages, melee carries, supports, juggernauts, tanks
If anything can hit mages, they will die and even with good positioning, there are plenty of ways for that to happen
pretty much anything that is capable of attacking will kill a mage and most assassins have a near instant kill time or can delay it until after zhonyas
Lazy Grandpa3 votesit's definitly broken. not even the fact that everyone takes it or that it's practically build on every mage or just the 600 version on every champion. it also allows non targeted healing but disables damage. so dumb shit like vladimi rheals his entire hp bar whilst golden. soraka can ult anything that can heal will heal.
Logicalily 3 votesGuys 
is not broken
that item is broken uwu
RebeccaUCuber2 votesAgreed, it has a long cd if u dont reduce it with runes. And let's be honest. In a meta when you explode in 1 second, if u mess up with zonya and you dont have flash, it's basically a death sentence.
ORB1TS1 votesIt isnt broken just bad gameplay
The thigh guy6 votesIt isnt broken just bad gameplay
I could easily argue that everything in this game is now just “bad gameplay”
Zhonya’s is just the only defensive tool left.
ORB1TS9 votes[{quoted}](name=The thigh guy,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=00040000,timestamp=2019-10-05T04:26:10.869+0000)
I could easily argue that everything in this game is now just “bad gameplay”
Zhonya’s is just the only defensive tool left.
ya know whats funny is riot favors mages so much that the item in the game with the most mr is a mage item
Blue Shift1 votesZhonya has one of the best build paths in the game and since a lot of people right now can take stopwatch as a rune, it's total cost from 2900 goes all the way down to 2300. The active is one of if not the strongest in the game as well, completely countering certain champions, which for just one item, is very strong. Zed, Fizz, Nocturne, Rengar, Yasuo, Vi, Diana, and Malphite to name a few that are impacted the hardest. Defense items also count as items like Rod of Ages, Seraphs Embrace, Liandrys, Rylais, etc... All the items that give health are defensive items and if you stack enough of them, an assassin will have a very hard time dealing with you. I don't think Zhonya's should be removed from the game, but I do think the build path should at least be changed and have seekers armguard removed from the game and replaced with a much harder item to build into like rod of ages.
The thigh guy2 votes[{quoted}](name=Blue Shift,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=0010,timestamp=2019-10-05T15:19:28.977+0000)
Zhonya has one of the best build paths in the game and since a lot of people right now can take stopwatch as a rune, it's total cost from 2900 goes all the way down to 2300. The active is one of if not the strongest in the game as well, completely countering certain champions, which for just one item, is very strong. Zed, Fizz, Nocturne, Rengar, Yasuo, Vi, Diana, and Malphite to name a few that are impacted the hardest. Defense items also count as items like Rod of Ages, Seraphs Embrace, Liandrys, Rylais, etc... All the items that give health are defensive items and if you stack enough of them, an assassin will have a very hard time dealing with you. I don't think Zhonya's should be removed from the game, but I do think the build path should at least be changed and have seekers armguard removed from the game and replaced with a much harder item to build into like rod of ages.
Why? The seekers option is the ONLY thing keeping talon and zed in line.
Blue Shift1 votesAccording to what?
The thigh guy1 votes[{quoted}](name=Blue Shift,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ndA3RFrG,comment-id=001000000000,timestamp=2019-10-05T21:57:32.068+0000)
According to what?
Every person to ever play as or against a zed or talon as a mage.
Blue Shift1 votesyikes okay